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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Alien Assignment from Fred Rogers Center - Great for PreK and Primary!

Apps that allow children to get up, move, and interact with their environment are great for the classroom. With Alien Assignment (Free) children are sent around on a scavenger hunt to find items to help the alien family repair their spaceship.

App plays like a movie which then asks the students to find something that they ask for. For example, the spaceship lost it's memory so they asked for a picture of something with words on it.

The app opens the camera inside the app for students to take the picture, then moves on to the next need. This continues for 4 items. Once the students have collected the four items they ask a grown up to review what they found.

Teachers or Parents can then look through what the students chose to take photos of and verify if they found the right item. If they did not, it will have the students go back and continue looking until all four pieces have been found and fixed on the spaceship.

This free app allows students to interact with the storyline, find characteristics, problem solve, and practice their listening skills. All instructions are given given aloud by one of the little alien characters. Once one scavenger hunt is complete, it begins a new hunt with different characteristics. I played the app three times by myself and with my own first grader and we didn't have repeat characteristics., though eventually they would probably repeat. This app would make a great center activity in the classroom or walk the room activity near the beginning of the year.

The Fred Rogers Center has other apps geared towards younger students as well. Many are great for at home or in daycare settings.